Video 5:38
Minister won't rule out closing schools

Alyssa Betts
Fri 1 Nov 2013, 9:07 PM AEDT

Teachers have voted in favour of industrial action. The Government's doing several reviews that could result in an education overhaul. It's turning into a battle over resources ... and there's no guarantee schools won't be closed.

Transcript

ALYSSA BETTS, PRESENTER: Things are set to heat up in Territory education. Teachers are already riled by the latest job losses, and have voted in favour of industrial action. The Government's doing several reviews that could result in an education overhaul - particularly in the bush. It's turning into a battle over resources and there's no guarantee schools won't be closed. I spoke with the Education Minister Peter Chandler earlier.

Peter Chandler, welcome to the program.

PETER CHANDLER, EDUCATION MINISTER: Thank you, Alyssa.

ALYSSA BETTS: Now, the union is planning on strike action as early as next week and that's been sparked by the latest round of job cuts in the support services section, and that's basically because it comes so close to your announcement of deferring any further teacher position cuts so it seems like it's about to get quite nasty between you and the union.

PETER CHANDLER: Look, the union have a job to do. I understand what their job is to do and it is to support teachers. I just wish from time to time they used some of the facts, rather than the rhetoric that they often use. When we first come into government, we basically said that the information was that the education department was bloated, that you know the schools are running as leanly as they possibly can but that our education department was bloated. A clear indication of that is in the last five years we've had an additional 173 students across the NT yet the education department, the staffing grew by 790 positions.

ALYSSA BETTS: But is it a fair comparison, I mean are you taking into account that the department has on occasions taken on new responsibilities such as I guess the Office of Children and Families?

PETER CHANDLER: No look, these are positions that were strictly to do with education and as I said when you've grown a department by 790 at the same time our student numbers have grown by 173, I would be the biggest advocate for those advances with positions if indeed our outcomes had improved but it's clear that our outcomes in some places are going backwards.

ALYSSA BETTS: Can you say right now that you'll rule out any further education cuts beyond the two tranches of job losses that you've already publicly admitted to?

PETER CHANDLER: There might not be further cuts, there might actually be more resources going into education. We need to see what these reviews are going to deliver.

ALYSSA BETTS: But at the moment it's been all about the cuts so, and that's what's stirred up the unions. Is there any further cuts down the line that haven't yet been announced?

PETER CHANDLER: Look, not that I'm aware of at this point in time.

ALYSSA BETTS: So who would be aware? Is it cabinet or Adam Giles or maybe Dave Tollner?

PETER CHANDLER: Well it's a good question, no I as the Minister would be responsible for that but what we've done now, it's got us to this point, these recommendations that come through from the reviews will put me in a far better position to understand where we need to target our spending in the NT.

ALYSSA BETTS: Can you rule out closures of any schools in this term of government?

PETER CHANDLER: Look it's something that I certainly am not looking at, at the moment. Look, I would think that we're going to see more as the Territory grows we're going to need more schools, in fact just yesterday having meetings in regard to how we're going to manage the growing need in special needs across the Northern Territory, how we're going to manage those growing number of students coming through. We're going to need additional resources for that. We're going to need additional schools.

ALYSSA BETTS: But you are obviously reviewing the Indigenous education side of things and there are a lot of very small schools out there that obviously don't attract a lot of attendance. Can you rule out the factor that you won't close some of those schools at the end of this Indigenous education review?

PETER CHANDLER: Well I think what you're asking me to do is pre-empt what the recommendations would be out of the Indigenous education review. I won't do that until I see what those recommendations are, it would be foolhardy of me to rule in anything or rule out anything.

ALYSSA BETTS: One of the key sticking points between the union and the government in the EBA negotiations is little known is the issue of timing. The teachers union would like a stock-standard three-year term, which would see the EBA smack bang in the middle the next Territory election which is a very powerful bargaining tool for them. You're trying to have a four year term which would then remove that sticky situation for the CLP, but really should students be made to suffer for what is essentially a backroom wrestle for a long-term political gain?

PETER CHANDLER: Look, I think the question should be put to the appropriate minister in regard to public employment but from my perspective from Minister for Education, when I come into this job we had around a third of our teachers out there all on contracts. Today, that's down to 14 per cent so we have turned hundreds and hundreds of contractor positions into permanent positions and that's what teachers told me they wanted to see happen.

ALYSSA BETTS: You acknowledge though that it would be a fairly sticky situation to have the teachers all striking and causing mischief in the lead up to the next election?

PETER CHANDLER: Look, I don't think the teachers that I know, I really don't think striking action is the best action for them. Their hearts are in the right place - they're there for the students and they know that any strike action may impact students, particularly at a time where, you know, like at the moment year 12 are just about to go into their, for their exams, their final exams for the years. You know, the wrong time to be putting any additional pressure onto students.

ALYSSA BETTS: So how do you feel about the idea that they might start striking as early as next week, considering obviously that this is a sensitive time for some students?

PETER CHANDLER: I would call upon the teachers, I would call upon the unions to look at this through the eyes of a student at the moment. What are we here for? We're here for the students. We're not here for any other reasons.